March 3, 2011
It can feel isolated on a boat at sea, but eventually the world knocks on the hull of every yacht. Social, political, economic or environmental, global issues impact the lives of captains, crew and the yachting industry.
For example, the attacks in the United States by international terrorists in 2001 affected one captain’s American crew.
“We were 150 miles out during 9/11 and we had our crew airlifted out,” this captain said. “They had to get to their family.”
Captains shared how their wallets, safety, destinations and staff are affected by events the world over at this month’s From the Bridge luncheon in Ft. Lauderdale. As usual, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A14.
Even weather a half a world away affect business. When Cyclone Yasi hit Australia in February, small Caribbean islands, some 9,000 miles away, had an increase in charter guests, a captain said.
“Atlantis marina was filled with VIP clients booking when the cyclone hit,” he said. “A Saudi prince had planned his honeymoon in Australia and had to move to the Bahamas instead.”
Although, the Middle East and Arab nations are not as popular as the Mediterranean when it comes to cruising grounds, captains said they monitor political instability across the region, including Egypt.
“No one will go to the Suez area, not with the piracy,” a captain said of Egypt’s Suez Canal, a megayacht’s most direct route to the Mediterranean from points east and south.
“But it’s always been like that,” another captain said. “They used to be called agents, government workers; they were legal pirates.”
“There used to be one reason; now there are more reasons not to go to some areas,” the first captain said.
Security is a daily news topic around the globe; due to war, religion, economics, politics, governments; just about anything.
“It’s like that article,” another captain said, pointing to the February Triton article “Yachts burgled in St. Maarten's Simpson Bay”. “You have to watch where you go.”
When the economy is down, another captain said, theft becomes an issue no matter where yachts travel.
“We had crew from Palau who was traveling back here to take courses and he had everything stolen, laptop, everything,” the captain said.
”You have to decide where to go based on reports,” another captain said.
“When I go into a place like that, as a deterrent, I go straight to the local sheriff to make introductions,” a captain said. “I make a contribution to the local widow and orphans fund or whatever, and ask if I can hire someone to travel with me to keep me out of trouble.
“Then I’m the one on the island with a guy with a gun.”
How do captains and crew get their information about the global events that affect them? From everywhere they can find it.
“Insurance companies have tons,” a captain said. “They say, ‘we’ve gotten notice of intelligence from this area.’”
“Yeah, they tell you you can go here but, if you go there, you will not be insured,” another captain said.
Single-sideband (SSB) radio is a fail-safe way to get information, several captains said.
“I used to listen to the BBC on the single-sideband on the beach,” a captain said about his time in the South Pacific. “I heard the 9/11 news from an island.”
“I’m amazed at the boats without SSB,” a captain said. “And how many of them have a ham radio? You can use it just for listening if you’re not licensed. That’s real information around the world.”
The captain said he had used that technology since day one, but now the younger crew don’t know how to use it. Egyptian protesters were reported to have used SSB when the Internet was shut down.
“Carib net is another way,” another captain said. “It’s real-time news, first-hand information from people who are there. It’s critical and you get answers back from cruisers in the harbor.”
“I think that was the origin of networking,” a third captain said.
Another captain mentioned listening to high-frequency radio stations in Cuba for current news, and another suggested print and Internet media.
“I think some of the magazines and newspapers are important for what’s going on,” a captain said. “Some are what I call Prozac media, but there are some good ones with real information, not just fluff.
“Like The Triton,” this captain said. “And Latitude 38 on the west coast. That tells you Joe the dockmaster is good or whatever. But there is a lag time in magazines.”
All of the captains talk with other captains and travelers from the regions the boss wants to go.
“Definitely use the U.S. State Department for their alerts,” a captain said. “I check that before I get on any plane.”
“But when in doubt,” a captain said, “Google it.”
The lunch attendees were a diverse group with a variety of citizenships, abilities in many languages and exposure to a variety of regions and cultures. They said their knowledge of cultures outside their own -- and which passport they hold -- can change the feel of their international travel.
“Americans do have a bad image, that’s why I carry different passports,” a captain said.
“Yeah, I put Canadian stickers all over my luggage,” another said.
“I’ll say I’m from somewhere else,” a third said.
But another captain countered that people have prejudices no matter where they live.
“In the U.S., they’ll say, don’t go there, you’ll get shot,” a captain said of places such as the Middle East. “But, people say the same thing everywhere. In the Middle East they say, don’t go to New York, don’t go to Central Park, you’ll be killed. It is exactly the same no matter where you are.”
“In places like Qatar and Oman, when I live there, I can do anything and go anywhere with no problem,” a captain said. “They are regular people and do regular things, just like everywhere.”
Another captain talked of an experience in which he thought he would not be able to relate with a different culture.
“We met with some Russians for a game of football and I didn’t expect a lot,” this captain said. “But it was a real-eye opener. They were so hungry for contact with other people. It was the kind of situation where we would have been friends if we could have.”
But several captains in potentially hazardous regions said it still takes planning and research before they travel.
“I was in a Muslim part of the world and it was a mob violence mentality,” one captain said. “You really have to gauge the attitude to other countries.”
“Like where I was travelling, they hated the Dutch,” another captain said. “I heard someone saying I was Dutch so I spoke to them in their local language to tell them I wasn’t. Then I was American.”
Passport and visa status are a concern for many yacht captains and crew. Governments affect international relationships, which dictate who can be onboard, where yachts visit, what they are able to do and for how long.
“There are lots of rules and regulations,” a captain said of experiences with international crew. For example, one captain suggested that the French laws regarding rules of employment have made hiring their citizens more difficult due to strict laws on severance pay and dismissal.
“Don’t hire French because you can’t fire them,” the captain said.
“You can do it if you hire them in a sovereign territory,” another captain said. “Just don’t get near France.”
Prices, currency values, international stock markets and more cannot be separated from most every aspect of yachting, especially the owner’s wallet. Events from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to political instability in the Middle East cause fluctuation in fuel production, distribution and pricing.
“Fuel prices, for us, definitely make a big difference,” a captain said. With a boss new to yachting, he said the boat used to travel between Ft. Lauderdale and the Bahamas.
“When the fuel prices went up, the boss did the calculations and decided to just stay in the Bahamas.”
“It all makes a difference, how much money, how you travel, how fast,” another captain said. “We can go 26 knots, but now we go slow and save a lot.”
“When fuel was $5 a gallon, our fuel bill was $12,000, twice as much as normal,” a third captain said. “So on the way south I lowered the RPM. Of course, I had to change the oil more, but we ran like that afterward, too.”
When the boss asked why the trip took longer, the captain explained that by running the boat at 10 knots instead of 12, he saved fuel costs.
“She asked about the extra dockage and I said that was about $500,” he said. But in fuel, “I saved [her] $6,000. We’ve been running like that ever since.”
Whether positive or negative, captains said world events are part of yachting and always will be. Yachties need to maintain awareness of social, political, economic and environmental issues around the globe.
“I never left home before boats,” a captain said. “It was the beginning of my education about other people. It opened up my eyes to the world.”
If you make your living working as a yacht captain, e-mail dorie@the-triton.com for an invitation to our monthly Bridge luncheon.
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